Tag: Larry Diamond

Democracy and its discontents: charting a path of renewal

     

Surveying America’s political history, Larry Diamond of Stanford University divines “a general pattern of resilience, punctuated by dark periods of authoritarian temptation,” The Economist notes: Indeed the two are related;… Read more »

A ‘Sputnik Moment’? What to do about China’s ‘sharp power’

     

China is manipulating debate in Western democracies by employing “sharp power”, a term coined by the National Endowment for Democracy. “Soft power” harnesses the allure of culture and values to… Read more »

Cross-border, state-directed kleptocracy – 21st century authoritarianism

     

  Lebanon-based businessmen who lost enterprises through dealings with members of Saudi Arabia’s royal family and others in the kingdom are closely watching a the anti-corruption campaign led by the… Read more »

Democratic renewal must address shifts in West’s political culture

     

Political scientists have long contended that culture matters to the formation and consolidation of democracy. But efforts to renew democracy and challenge authoritarianism will need to pay closer attention to… Read more »

Ideas and prospects for democratic renewal

     

The assumption that autocracy is a feasible alternative to liberal democracy is understandable. When representative democracy fell before, it fell in that direction. It also fits the trend of events… Read more »

Kenya poll highlights East Africa’s fragile democracies

     

  Kenyans vote Thursday in a repeat presidential election that has East Africa’s economic power on edge once more, AP reports: The Supreme Court shocked Africa last month by nullifying… Read more »

As China attacks Western democracy, are non-democratic options emerging?

     

China’s official Xinhua news agency attacked Western democracy as divisive and confrontational on Tuesday, praising on the eve of a key Communist Party Congress the harmony and cooperative nature of… Read more »

Is Tunisia’s democracy being derailed?

     

Over the course of just one week, the Tunisian government has made three concerning moves that, taken together, signal a major backsliding in its democratic development, Carnegie analyst Sarah Yerkes writes… Read more »

Corruption, poor economy, illiberalism threaten Tunisia’s exceptionalism

     

Poor economic conditions and corruption are at the source of intense public dissatisfaction in Tunisia, according to a new poll by the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Center for Insights in Survey Research:… Read more »